Despite All My Rage
by SinisterConcussion
Summary: KenpachixOC Growing up on the streets hasn't made Tenma very ladylike. She's rude, dominant, sarcastic, and loves to fight. What happens when she meets someone exactly like her? Rated M for crude language.
1. Prologue

'_Who is mightier than Death? Those who can smile when death threatens_.' --Ruckett

Now, Shoukyaku Tenma wasn't one for lectures and wisdom, but there was some truth in those 2 short sentences that she absolutely believed in. Who knows? Maybe it was her obstinate, brassy personality--the way she just said and acted whatever way she felt was necessary, regardless of the consequences. Maybe it was her tendency to act first and think later. Or maybe it was just her lifestyle.

Growing up in the backstreets of Karakura Town isn't what one would call pleasant. They called it the Rosuto, meaning Lost, District. It wasn't by any means an official name, just one the residents began to call it, for if you ended up there, you were indeed lost, or just had no itenerary in life. It was full of thugs and gang bangers, prostitutes and junkies, and those down on their luck; yeah, if you came from Rosuto, you were scum, at best.

It wasn't really a place one would find a normal high school girl, contemplating on the roof of her broken down apartment building like there was nothing wrong with the world. But then again, Tenma never thought of considering herself a normal high school girl anyway. True, she wan't _really_ in a gang, she'd never been a prostitute, and her father had an okay paying job in construction. But a normal girl wouldn't be lying down on the roof of her shabby home, with a zippo in her hands, wondering how long after dark she could stay out without being at risk of a bullet wound.

She toyed with the lighter cap, deliberating what she would occupy her time with tomorrow. She never went to school, only if there was really _nothing else _to do. She just didn't see the point in lectures that would have no use in the future--or at least her future. Call her pessimistic, but there was just _nothing_ in store for her in the years ahead. She wasn't very smart; she had no manners, and was rude, tactless, and rash to a fault. She didn't know how to cook, or housekeep, and she was terrible with kids. She cursed, fought, smoked, gambled, all together unladylike. Yep, Tenma was absolutely hopeless.

Off in the distance, she heard a woman's scream and an odd roar. It was extremely loud, as if it were near. She didn't move, someone in the neighborhood must've stolen them a new surround sound system. Must be nice.

The ground began to tremor and the warehouse nextdoor burst into a half pile of rubble. Tenma shot up alarmed, wiping her eyes, debris stuck in her short hair. "Time to head in, I guess," she mumbled, hoisting herself up hastily, and running for the door to the stairs. "Fuckin' pipebombs..."

She grabbed the handle to the door and turned it, yet the door burst open all on it's own. "Out of the way!" yelled a peculiar bald man, shoving her roughly out of the way. It all seemed like slow motion, the man appeared seemingly out of nowhere--she felt him before she saw him--as if she had just opened her eyes. He wore a strange black kimono, and brandished a katana in his hand. On contact, she flew backwards into the door, as if a large electric shock just ran through her system. For a moment all she saw was white, her head was spinning and all she could hear was a terrible wailing roar...

All she could think about was Death.


	2. A Pleasant Morning

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

"Ugh..."

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Tenma rolled over in her bed early the next morning, shoving her head under the pillow. She didn't get much sleep last night, what with the constant crashes and screaming outside. So, she was determined to get as much sleep as possible.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Her cell phone blared persistently. Why, in god's name, did she insist on getting that obnoxious fire-alarm ringtone?

'Because it was freakin' sweet,' she answered herself.

'Screw off'.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

"Shut up!" she sat up on her forearms and screamed at her cell phone, sitting oh-so-innocently on her desk on the other side of the room. If only she had a flamethrower, she could effectively execute the course of action she had in mind. Sadly, she did not, so she just settled on a glare.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

"Alright, fine!" she grumbled, deciding that she would get no more sleep over that infernal racket, and that whatever prick was calling her at this hour on a Thursday morning would surely keep on calling until she answered. She flipped the contraption open begrudgingly. _"What?"_

"Are you still in bed?!" came a yell of equal calibur as her own.

"So what if I am? It's not even 7 yet!"

"It's Thursday. Thursday means school, and school means get up and go for learn something for once! We have an important test today, and you haven't been there all week. You're gonna to fail again!"

She scowled. "Jeez, Carrot-top, that's more of a reason not to go. I'm not gonna go for a test I'm not even prepared for--"

"Copy my notes--"

"How are you even calling me? Yopu don't have a cell, do you?" Tenma cut him off, growing more and more agitated.

"Look outside," he laughed, and she opened the blinds to her bedroom window. Across the street stood a payphone and on that payphone, she found her morning intruder. He grinned up at her and waved. "Your hair looks like shit," he teased.

She growled down at him, opening the window and pointing a long thin figner at him. "Ichigo, you rat bastard!" A few heads on the street turned.

Ichigo's face then grew serious. "Get to school today, or I'll make you regret it," he said and hung up the phone, walking off without another glance.

Tenma closed her cell phone as well as her window. "Wel, I don't wanna _regret it_," she said to herself sarcastically. Honestly, her only friend acted like such a hardass all the time, it was hard to believe that _he_ was the goody two-shoes and _she_ was the juvenile delinquent. Well, okay, maybe the latter exceptionally easy to believe, especially since she had been suspended for fighting 4 times in that school year alone, not to mention her ever growing file down at the police station and her pending probation at the courthouse, which she refused to show up to on the day of the hearing, instead settling on gambling with a tough crowd in Rosuto.

She hurriedly brushed her teeth, showered, and combed through her short, choppy black hair. She skipped breakfast, being unacusstomed to eating so early in the morning due to her habitual sleeping in, and grabbed her school bag, half-expecting it to be covered in dust and cobwebs, it was used to unoften.

"Alright. A day in hell starts...now Shit, wait..." she halted at the door, picking up her big, 'wife-beater' shades and skateboard from the livingroom, and sighed. "Now," she nodded, slinging her bag over shoulder and closing and locking the front door of her apartment.

Tenma walked out onto the street sidewalk, board clutched under her arm lightly. It felt good that morning. Winter had just ended, and a cool spring breeze rustled the trees and the small, newly budding flowers. It was a shame she had to waste such a nice morning at school, of all places. Well, if it weren't for Ichigo, she'd still have been in that stuffy old apartment.

She heard a crash down the street as well as some shouts. With a sigh, she mounted her board and took off. It was a bad idea to loaf around in _that_ neighborhood. You were likely to get jumped, stabbed, pickpocketed, or a lot worse, for just passing through. It was enogh to make her wonder why Ichigo even bothered going out of his way to venture into that part of town, just to phone call a threat to get her to school.

Tenma grinned to herself as she ollied over a sleeping dog. Well, it was _Ichigo_ after all. If he was man enough to visit for a day every now and then, a few minutes on the street corner payphone would be a piece of cake. But still, she couldn't help but worry over her only friend. She told him she'd have his back, after all.

The ground beneath her gave a little tremor, knocking her off balance as she prepared to ollie over a brick park planter. A queasy feeling began to build as she slowed to a stop, plopping down on a nearby bench. The pit of her stomach clenched tightly and the hairs on her neck stood on end as a strange sensation took over her. Flashbacks from the night before began to play in her mind...

'_What is this?_' she thought to herself. She clenched the edge of the bench for support. "I must be constipa--AUGH!" the ground rattled once more behind her.

She spun around, expecting...well, she didn't really know what to expect. But definitely not a 20 foot tall booger green giant with a white skeleton-like mask covering its face. It gave a deafening banshee-like screech with enough force to knock her over, short hair tangled and sticking in all sorts of odd directions.

Her eyes grew as wide as saucers as she couldn't find the strength to move, as if something were forcibly binding her limbs to that sodding rickety bench. Its yellow eyes, small and pupilless orbs set in blackness of the mask's eyeholes, bore into her dark brown ones, ridding her of any logical thoughts she had accumulated up until that moment.

It leaned down and grinned its nasty little grin at her. "What _peculiar_ reiatsu you have, my darling. I wonder how it tastes," it pondered deviously, a low chuckle resonating in its elongated neck. "No need to be afraid. This will be over quickly!" it promised and lunged at her.

Tenma gasped. What sucked the most was that she couldn't even close her eyes. Her body seemed to stop responding altogether!

In a flash, the bench was utterly decimated into a hundred pieces. Phew! Thank god she wasn't on it...wait, WHAT?! She glanced down at her feet to find nothing underneath them but the sweet--invisible--morning air?

"Huh, that was a close one, eh?" a male's voice came, and she then realized the slight choking sensation as a masculine hand had a firm grip on the collar of her uniform. Her eyes followed the hand up an incredibly well-toned arm, all the way up until her eyes were met by a blinding, reflecting light.

"Fuck!" she mumbled, flinching away and squinting her eyes, looking back only after her eyes had recovered and a hand was position safely over her brows. A familiar face met her gaze, one with a head so damn shiny, the sun reflected off of it like fine crystalline glass. Tenma almost laughed at the comparison--almost. That is, if that gargantuan _thing_ hadn't have given out another loud screech. Once more, her limbs felt like jelly and fell limp; her head lulled to the side.

The bald man grunted. "Tch. How troublesome. Where's Yumichika when you need him..." he grumbled to himself, landing at the base of a nearby tree and setting her down. In a flash, he had disappeared only to reappear in front of the monster, a katana in hand.

'_What...the fuck?_' Tenma though to herself. First a crazy looking demon shows up, and now the freak with the waxed head and kimono from last night shows up, brandishing a damn weapon. What's worse is that she didn't even have an excuse for this hallucination. She'd been drug free for eight whole months!

The man dodged the monster's oncoming swings with ease. Said monster screeched in frustration and lunged at him once more, bellowing something about ruining its breakfast, which made Tenma shudder. The guy dodged the oncoming claw easily and jumped high into the air, bringing his sword down with one sweeping blow, slicing its head in half. It gave one last screech and began to dissolve away.

He smirked to himself and sheathed his sword. "What a disappointent...You there!" he turned to Tenma, still lying on the ground, stunned. "You okay?" he walked toward her. "I'm guessing you can move your limbs now."

Tenma slowly sat up. It was a strain, like trying to grab something with a sleeping arm, but she managed. "Eh, yeah. Thanks..." she panted, fixing her uniform skirt. Then she tried standing. "What exactly _was_ that thing?" her knees buckled under her, and she felt dizzy, crouching back down for support.

"Hollow," he answered simply, grabbing her by the under arm and dragging her to her feet.

"Hollow?" she echoed, regaining her balance. "Oh, like that hole in its stomach?"

"Yeah, that's one characteristic of a Hollow, along with a mask. They prey on human souls to survive. It may have been a mere coincidence, but just in case, watch your back. And _**don't tell anyone**_ what you saw," he turned and leaped away.

"Watch my back? How am I supposed to watch my back against a monster like that?!" she called after him, but it was too late; he was gone. She huffed and picked up her things.

'_I didn't even get the weirdo's name._'


	3. To Soul Society

_**Disclaimer:**__I do not own Bleach; if I did, Chad would get waaay more air time (Gotta love that boy). However, I do own any made up character, event, or place and reserve the right to bend them to my will. _

Just a little heads up, this story has quite a bit of foul language. Can't say I didn't warn you.

* * *

Well, needless to say, Tenma's little "encounter", as wonderful and pleasant as it was--please, note sarcasm--had made her even more late to school than she already was. Nonetheless, she dragged herself into the classroom, not even bothering to close the door behind her, and took her seat towards the front-middle, in-between Kuchiki Rukia, the new girl, who hadn't noticed her presence, face buried in a romance novel, and the class know-it-all, Ishida Uryu, who gave her a rude, yet questioning stare as she passed by.

"The fuck _you_ lookin' at?" she mumbled. He averted his gaze with a 'hmph'.

"Okay! Let's get this test started, shall we?" the teacher broke the tense silence that Tenma had conjured upon her arrival. Tenma, on the other hand, swore under her breath. Almost thirty minutes late and she still made it in time for that damn test? _Fuck_.

"Psst!" someone behind her whispered as the teacher began passing out test documents. Tenma looked over her shoulder to see Arisawa Tatsuki, a good friend of Ichigo's.

"Heh, what?" she replied bluntly, recieving a small folded note in return. "Heh?" she blinked at it.

Tatsuki merely nodded her head towards her orange-headed friend. He gave her a death glare. She ignored him and opened the note.

_'You're late, Douchebag.'_

_-Ichigo_

She frowned at it but scribbled down her own message:

_'I showed up, didn't I?'_

_Ten_

She folded the paper into a small football-esque shape and clicked it towards him. It hit him square in the forehead, the tiny _PLOP!_ of it hitting its mark the only sound in the dead silent classroom. Other students stared at them oddly, the teacher not even taking notice.

Ichigo rolled his eyes, scribbled a few words down and folded it, tossing it back.

_'I needed to talk to you.'_

She replied:

_'Bout what, bro?'_

He looked a bit perplexed for a second as he wrote, folding it and tossing it once more; she caught it mid-air.

_'It's nothing. I'll tell you later. Do your work, dumbass.'_

Her eye twitched violently as she glared at the tiny note.

_'WHORE.'_

She scribbled down her one word response before balling it up and hurtling it at her friend, who dodged it with ease, causing it to bean Asano Keigo right in the eye. He fell out of his seat in a dramatic display of idiocy. The teacher looked up and stared at her accusingly.

Tenma's eyes widened. "Ishida!" she scolded. The four-eyed boy glared at her incredulously. Tatsuki and Mizuiro broke into fits of laughter.

"So how'd you think you did on that test, Ten?" Ichigo caught up to Tenma in the hall after class, smirking at his failure of a best friend.

"Hmph, shit was easy," she bragged. She was lying of course. Like she fucking knew anything about WWII. One bastard ganged up on another bastard with all his bastard friends because that bastard didn't like a number of other bastards. She didn't care. "So anyway, what do you have to talk to me about? It'd better be good for you to have to leave me hangin' like that, man."

He nodded, becoming serious instantly. "Yeah, it's--"

"IICHIGOO! Guess wha--"

"Shut up, Keigo, jeez!" Ichigo decked the poor sap in the face. She didn't blame him--the fucker came out nowhere!

Keigo held his nose in contempt for a second before replying with a solemn, "Nice right hook...But anyhow, Kuchiki-san sent me to find you. Said she needed to talk to you. Are you keeping something from me? Is there something between you two that I don't know about? Why am I always the last one to know?! I though we were friends--"

After that, Tenma just tuned him out. If she wanted to see someone go into hysterics, she'd hang out with Ichigo's dad, Isshin. At least then, it'd be funny; lots of pain and manly tears. None such with Asano Keigo.

"There you are!" an unfamiliar female voice disrupted Keigo's pitiful rescue pleas, from the receiving end of Ichigo's headlock. It was Rukia. She had short raven black hair and a very petite stature. She held a cellphone out for him to see. "We have to go, _now!_" she said through gritted teeth and a fake smile. Ichigo nodded, dropped Keigo like a bad habit, and sprinted down the hallway.

"Uh...okay?" Tenma raised an eyebrow.

The rest of the day passed by at a painstakingly slow pace. She didn't see Ichigo in any of the rest of her classes, bitched at Keigo for an assortment of reasons, and fell asleep during lunch on the roof, consequently sleeping through the rest of the school day. Tenma woke in a blissful haze some time after school let out, to a strange pair of voices, neither of which making an effort to keep their noise level to a minimum.

"Are you sure? There must be some mistake," one voice said.

"O' course I'm sure! I was there, ya bonehead! You really think I'd forget somethin' like this? It was only this morning; what kinda dense bastard do ya take me for!" a gruff voice replied, a bit rudely, she noticed. Familiar.

"My, my! No need for that ugly attitude; I was merely saying that there seems nothing extraordinary enough about this girl to be attracting so many hollows--"

Tenma's eyes snapped open at the familiar word. Her eyes met a clear, cloudless blue sky, and two peculiar faces, one she had seen before--her bald-headed saviour. She blinked; he scowled.

"Hey, hey!" he yelled. "Didn't I tell ya to watch your back? What's the big idea, sleepin' so carefree in a wide-open space like this, eh? You think I got time to keep comin' to yer damn rescue?!"

She stared at him, bewildered. "The fuck you talkin' about weirdo? I ain't done shit!"

The bald one's companion sighed, running a slim pale hand through his perfectly straight, chin length hair. "Looks like her manners and just as hideous as yours, Ikkaku. So much for a thank you." Tenma stared at him warily, about to reply when there came a loud beeping sound. The civilized stranger (Tenma snorted at her new nickname. It made him sound like a super hero), the one who's name was not Ikkaku, whipped out a cell phone and furrowed his perfect brows, adorned with two feathers. "Another hollow, headed right this way. Looks like you were right, Ikkaku."

"What?" Tenma jumped up, eyes darting this way and that. Nothing looked out of the ordinary--just a peaceful afternoon.

"Che, no shit. You doubtin' me?" Ikkaku huffed, unsheathing his katana just as the sky opened up--jesus christ superstar, the sky opened up!--giving way to three more masked beasts similar to the one from earlier.

Tenma didn't even have a chance to scream. One second she was staring three ugly monsters in the face, and the next, piggybacking Ikkaku as he and the civil stranger sprinted over the rooftops to god-knows-where, the beasts dissolving from gashes in their chests. Man, these two were good.

"Well, we found the source of the problem, what now? 'Cause I am _not_carrying this kid around all day," Ikkaku grumbled.

His companion was silent for a few minutes, pondering, before replying, "We should take her to Soul Society."

"What!" Ikkaku halted, landing on a nearby water tower. "Yumichika, you have lost your god damned mind if you think Captain Zaraki would allow us to bring a living person back with us, _especially_a dumb girl that can't even defend herself!" Tenma scowled at this, about to object-

"The Captain couldn't care less about something like that. Besides, he sent me here to help you with this problem, and that's exactly what I'm doing. We can't leave her here, where her reiatsu sticks out like a sore thumb. At least in Soul Society, we could take our time and find out what's going on," the one named Yumichika spoke matter-of-factly. Tenma gawked at the feather-browed stranger. Soul Society? Like _hell_ they were taking her anywhere! She opened her mouth in protest-

"Whatever, fine. But you're takin' the fall for this one, ya hear me? Hurry up and open the gate; I'm holdin' dead weight."

"Oh hell no! You did not just call me--"

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"I _will_ throw you off the edge of this tower!"

Yumichika sighed and shook his head, unsheathing his own katana and summoning a circular door in the middle of the air. Tenma, at this point, was on the verge of wetting herself. Of course, Ikkaku wouldn't like that very much, would he?

"Wh-what? Wait! Where are we going?" she started frantically as Ikkaku made to leap into the open pathway. Yumichika had already disappeared into its depths. "No! I wanna go home! Help! Rape! Kidnap-" she was effectively cut off, having been plunged into almost complete darkness. The air was thick, and she felt squished, as if the atmosphere itself was pressing and pulling at her body from all angles, trying to asphyxiate and contort her small frame.

"Heh, that sure shut 'er up, didn't it" Ikkaku chuckled, catching up to his pretty chum. They were sprinting along a dark,spacious tunnel. Skeletons of varying sizes an species littlered the ground and the walls looked like they were oozing.

"The poor thing," Yumichika cooed, eyeing her slightly convulsing form. "It's because she's not in soul form. I can't believe I forgot about that...Well, we should hurry; she'll probably die in a bit."

"Ikkaku merely grunted as they increased their already incredible speed. It wasn't very long until they had reached a blinding light at the end of the tunnel. They jumped through it. Warm sunlight graced her skin,her body no longer felt constricted, her lungs painfully expanded to their original capacity, letting in a rapid stream of oxygen. Ikkaku dropped her to the ground with a thud.

"Ow, you bastard," she panted, rubbing her ass. He was soo asking for it!

"Welcome to Soul Society," Yumichika gestured to the scenery around them. They were on a dirt hill looking over a maze of buildings and courtyards as far as the eye could see. She could see people walking the streets, all clad in the same black kimonos her two companions wore. She suddenly felt extremely out of place in her dress shirt, tie, and plaid skirt.

"So, like, no hollows or anything here, right?" she surveyed the ominous woods behind them warily.

"Nope, you're safe here, for a little while, at least." Tenma relaxed a little.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get back to the barracks, already. I'm tired as hell!" Ikkaku blurted, jumping off the side of the hill. Yumichika grabbed her and followed.

"So, uh, who's this Captain Zaraki?"

* * *

So we've finally got the ball rollin', eh? Thanks for those of you who have reviewed and favorited. I really love to know what you guys think. Feedback of any kind makes me happy!


	4. Meet The Captain

_**Disclaimer:**__I do not own Bleach; if I did, Chad would get waaay more air time (Gotta love that boy). However, I do own any made up character, event, or place and reserve the right to bend them to my will._

* * *

Ikkaku smirked at her question. "Only the toughest guy in all of Soul Society," he answered shortly.

Tenma rolled her eyes. She'd been in with a tough crowd for as long as she could remember, and for ever man that claimed to be the toughest, there was always another that could kick that bitch's ass in a heartbeat. This instance, she was positive, was no different.

They soon came upon a gate with the kanji for the number 11 written on it, and through it, a large compound. As they passed through, Tenma observed every man she saw. Each one was bigger than her, some even triple her girth, all with an air and look of primitive animosity. They all sat around, in the courtyards or the training dojo she noticed, drinking, fighting, gambling. It reminded her of home, as sad as it sounded. As they ventured deeper in, the men began to take notice of her. Ikkaku grabbed her roughly by the shoulder and drug her in front of him.

"Hey, hey. Don't fall behind me, ya hear? Womanizers, the whole lot of 'em," he warned her, sending a chilling glare at those bold enough to voice their interest in the young girl.

They stopped just in front of a door that she guessed led to their Captain Zaraki. It didn't look much different than any of the others they had passed by; however, she could feel a strong presence from inside that made her hair stand on end. Her stomach churned uneasily. The look on her face must have betrayed her thoughts, for Ikkaku smirked and gave a taunting chuckle.

"What, ya scared all of a sudden? You're all talk," he taunted, sliding open the door and shoving her through. She stumbled and fell flat on her face in front of a large desk. Yumichika sighed and shook his head, taking a seat daintily on the couch by the window.

"The hell you guys doin' back so damn early?" a deep menacing voice sounded directly in front of her.

"Well, we found the source of that hollow problem. It wasn't really all that difficult, considering I was there to help," Yumichika chimed, earning a glare from his bald friend. Tenma sat up and rubbed her nose, cursing said bald friend in every way she knew how.

"Heh, what's this?" the deep voice made her jump a little. "A present from the human world?" he chuckled. "Ya shouldn't have."

Tenma froze. In front of her sat the biggest man she had ever seen in her entire life. He stood and sauntered closer, until he was towering over her small sitting frame. In some odd twist of her horrible luck, if he had tripped and fallen, she would've been squashed to death--the thought of it made her cringe. He had to be _at least _6'6", and she could tell from his partially opened haori that he was ripped beyond fucking belief. His long charcoal-colored hair was fashioned into eleven liberty spikes, and there were bells attached to the ends. An eye patch adorned his right eye, his beady left eye roaming over her figure shamelessly. It didn't help that she had on a skirt, either. (She noticed he had no eyebrows--which in any other circumstance would have driven her into a hysterical fit of laughter; though, in any other circumstance, it probably wouldn't cause immediate death.) He wore the most maniacal of grins plastered on his face, baring ridiculously sharp canine teeth. He was animalistic in every sense; from his wolfish smile, to his hungry stare; his scarred face, to his tattered clothes. Tenma _knew_ he was dangerous; it resonated from his very being.

Ikkaku crossed his arms. "Nothin' but a bother. I wouldn't have even brought 'er along, if Yumi hadn't o' insisted on her taggin' along," he grumbled. The Captain gaze a quizzical glance towards his pretty subordinate.

"Well, apparently, she's the source of the problem. She's leaking so much reiatsu, it's been attracting every hollow within a five mile radius of her. It's only been a day, but the buildup hasn't been very pretty," Yumichika explained. "Ikkaku probably should've stayed, since technically he still is on patrol. _I_was merely completing my own mission." Zaraki grunted in understanding.

Just then, the door burst open, and a small ball of black and bubblegum pink bounded into the room, straight past Tenma, and launched itself at the giant of a Captain. He caught it inches in front of his face and set it down on the desk. It was a little girl, about the age of six. Tenma could feel an aneurysm coming on.

"Ken-chan, Ken-chan! Maki-Maki said there's a new girl in the division! Is it true, Ken-chan? Huh? Huh? Is that her? She sure is pretty, can she share my room, Ken-chan-"

"Shut up, Yachiru," the Captain said calmly. "No one's joining the division." She frowned.

"Yeah, squirt. She can't even fight," Ikkaku added.

Tenma's eye twitched unpleasantly. "Shut up, you bald faggot. You don't even know!" she retaliated. It most certainly hit a nerve. His whole head turned red with anger and it took everything Yumichika had to hold him back from beating her skull in. Her mouth was gonna get her killed one day.

The pink haired girl hopped off the desk, ran to where she was still sitting, and hopped onto her lap. "Hi! I'm Kusajishi Yachiru, the Vice-Captain. Who are you?" her bright eyes peered eagerly into the older girl's dark ones.

"Shoukyaku Tenma, a perfectly normal human."

Yachiru launched herself onto her chest and hugged her neck tightly. "Let's be friends, Ten-chan! We can play games, and draw pictures, and eat candy, and-"

"That's enough, Yachiru," Captain Zaraki pried the small child off of her. She climbed skillfully up his arm and clung to his back. "I'm taking ya to Captain Yamamoto, since I don't know what the hell to do with ya, understand?" he spoke for the first time directly to her. She nodded, unable to come up with something snarky to say. He sauntered out of the still-open door, and she followed--at a distance.

The trip back through the compound was a bit safer this time around through, though a bit awkward. The men of Division 11 kept their distance--they seemed just as afraid of their Captain as she was. So, she did what she always did when she was scared: kept her mouth shut and acted cool. Yachiru kept them from absolute silence, yakking, and yakking away about whatever it was she was yakking about. Neither of them paid her any attention. Tenma tried to observe the strange Captain; he...well, who knew what the hell _he_ was thinking.

Once they were out onto the main streets, Zaraki halted, turning slightly to stare down at her. "Get on my back."

She looked dumbfounded. "Wha?"

"Ya walk too damn slow, woman! Get on my back, or I'll drag ya by yer ankles," he glared. Tenma got a mental image of King Kong and that poor blonde bitch he kidnapped. She shuddered. The thought was absolutely terrible, but he fit the description well.

Yachiru moved to the side. "C'mon Ten-chan. Riding on Ken-chan is fun, you'll see!" The older girl scoffed. She highly doubted that...

Needless to say, it was indeed _fun_, piggybacking Ken-chan around the Seireitei rooftops. It was like riding a horse--a very big, very scary, slightly musical horse. The bells in his hair made a beautiful wind chiming sound the whole way, and was a terrific fucking distraction for Yachiru, who wouldn't shut the hell up for the life of her. _Really_. The child had no off-switch.

The Captain landed--quite gracefully--in front of a similar-looking compound, branded with the kanji for the number one. He let go of Tenma's legs and she slid down his back, landing--not so gracefully--on her ass.

"Hurry up," Zaraki called behind him as he walked through the gateway and straight to the Captain's office.

**A/N**: I don't know why, but I'm not very satisfied with this chapter. But I felt since it's been a couple of weeks, you guy deserved a little something rather than nothing at all. Please Review. I'd really like to know what you guys thought, or how I can improve a bit for the next time, I'm kinda stuck in a rut right now /  
Oh, and Just to let everyone know, I love Ikkaku and Yachiru. I'm just really good at bashing. XD

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	5. Tall Tales and Tricks

**Disclaimer**: don;t own Bleach, yadda yadda,...y'know...

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Tenma had to admit: the 1st division was in a lot better condition. Not to mention, the yards weren't littered with drunken angry men. She voiced her observation to the Captain, who looked like he was about to unleash hell on her face. Yachiru just giggled. She then found it wise to keep a minimum of ten feet between them at all times.

It wasn't long at all before Zaraki came to a stop and looked behind him, "The fuck're ya doin'? Get over here!" he ordered; she gave him a nasty look and inched her way towards him. He rolled his eyes--er, eye--and grabbed her by the shoulder, shoving her through large sliding doors.

"What is it with you people and manhandling me?!" she growled at him, after getting herself up off the floor for the fourth time since arriving.

Zaraki sauntered in behind her coolly. Yachiru smiled down at her from his shoulders and giggled--a huge contrast to his scowling mug. "Shut up, an' look sharp," he said with authority, which made her turn in the direction he was staring so intently in.

They were in the presence of two men, one looking as ancient as Noah's Ark (and bald as Ikkaku), with an extremely long white beard and an old walking cane. The other had a full head of hair, white as snow, that reached down to his mid back. He looked considerably younger and sort of reminded her of her own father...

"Zaraki Kenpachi," the old man spoke sternly, knocking Tenma straight out of her own thoughts, "how nice of you to barge into a private meeting without knocking or any other formal manner," he snapped. Tenma held in the urge to laugh at him. The old man's harsh gaze turned onto her and she stopped. His eyes were really squinty, almost as if they were closed, yet that authoritative glint couldn't be mistaken. This must be Captain Yamamoto.

"What can I say? Not my style," Zaraki replied with a grin. The old Captain sighed aggravatedly at his strange subordinate.

"And who is this, Zaraki? Why is she here? It's easy to tell she's a ryoka," he shot in an accusing tone. "You do remember the chaos caused to Soul Society the last time you buffoons let Ryoka run free through the Seireitei."

His white-haired companion chuckled. "Though a great deal more good resulted from it than you give credit for, Yamamoto-san," he pointed out in a gentle voice.

"And Ken-chan made a new friend!" Yachiru piped up. Zaraki scoffed.

"Hmph," Yamamoto sighed again. "Captain Ukitake, if you would be so kind as to escort the Ryoka and Lieutenant Kusajishi out, so we may speak of this matter in peace?"

The white-haired man gave a small smile. "Of course. Follow me, please," he beckoned them back through the door she was just thrown through.

Tenma sighed. "Well, wasn't that just wonderful?" she muttered. It was starting to get dark outside; stars began appearing one by one, and she felt the urge to lay out on the nearest roof and just stargaze until the fell asleep.

"Ah, excuse me. I'm sorry, I don't know your name," the white-haired man said. "It seems a bit rude to keep referring you as 'Ryoka'!"

"This is Ten-chan! She's my new friend!" Yachiru blurted from Tenma's shoulder before she could open her mouth to respond. Tenma nearly jumped out of her own skin. She hadn't even seen her climb up there, the sneaky little shit! She just nodded, clutching at her heart and taking a couple of deep breaths.

"Yeah, that's me, Shoukyaku Tenma. But...what's a Ryoka? Is that bad?"

"Hm," he crossed his arms and smiled. "Not really. Its because of a young man named Ichigo, who came here not too long ago. You see-"

"Whoa, whoa, hey, whoa! Ichigo? Ichigo, Kurosaki Ichigo?" Tenma's head snapped up immediately at the mention of her best friend's name. He nodded.

"The very same. I take it you know him?"

"Hah! Know him? We grew up together. That fool's my homie, my compadre, my brother from another mother! He's my best friend."

"Ten-chan! You know Ichi? How neat, he's Ken-chan's best friend, too! Isn't that great, Ten-chan? Now we're all best friends!" Yachiru bounced up and down, almost knocking the poor girl off balance. The man reached into the white jacket covering his black kimono and pulled out a few pieces of candy, handing them to the small girl. She took them and calmed down immediately. Tenma glared at her incredulously. Seriously, what the fuck?

"Best friends, you say?" he turned back to her, completely forgetting about Yachiru's crazy random outburst, and said. Tenma nodded. "So you must know all about how he and his friends snuck into Soul Society, broke into Seireitei, caused all sorts of disorder, and became our new Substitute Shinigami," he added with a wave of his hand, as if it were simple, common knowledge.

Silence.

"Wha?"

He chuckled and delved into a retelling of the events from only a few months before, how Ichigo, Chad, Orihime, and good-for-nothing gayfag Ishida risked their lives, and many others, as well as the welfare of Seireitei, to come to rescue Rukia, the new girl, who was from Soul Society and a member of his own division, and how they ultimately uncovered three dangerous traitors just in time to keep them from killing everyone, but not quick enough to apprehend them from escaping i giant beams of light and forming an army of Hollows to come back and effectively _pwn the fuck _out of everyone and rule the world. Yachiru was even gracious enough to provide her unbiased account, in **vivid **detail (please note sarcasm), of the epic battle between Ichi and Ken-chan, where Ichi totally cheated and beat up the poor hulk of a man with the help of his invisible friend.

It all made perfect sense to Tenma. x_x

"Yeah, riiiiight, Mr...uh.."

"Oh, forgive me. I am Ukitake Jushiro. Captain of the 13th Division."

She nodded slowly. "Right. Maybe we're thinking of two different Ichigos..." she said feebly. She was sure the Ichigo she knew wasn't _that_awesome. Besides, it sounded like a story straight out of a comic (notice the terrible irony). "And anyway, Shinigami don't really exist. It's just a fairy tale. I may have been afraid of the dark until I was 14, but this is ridiculous," she laughed. His silence made her stop "What?"

"You know, Rukia tells me that Ichigo thought the same thing before he actually became one. Most of the Seireitei is inhabited by Shinigami. You could very well become one as well; you're reiastu is very unique, and you seem to have quite a bit."

Tenma shook her head. This whole ordeal was a trip! Where these people trying to make her crazy? First she gets attacked by monsters, then kidnapped, assaulted, and fed stories about how her best friend was some sort of super hero...and that Ishida was _cool_! And now, she had super powers? Seriously? It was all a bit too much...

"Things will become clearer in time, I'm sure. But I'm curious now, how did you get here? Someone had to have brought you."

She hugged herself tightly and shivered. The autumn breeze was beginning to pick up. It was pretty dark outside, as night was finally upon them, the moon the only source of light on that dark street. She hadn't even noticed that they had kept on walking; they were far from the 1st Division compound by then. She hadn't noticed, either, how long Yachiru had been absent from her shoulder. 'No wonder it was so quiet', she thought. She must have run off somewhere. It didn't really concern her in the least bit. Besides, little girls roaming the streets at night was no strange scenario to her. She shivered once more.

"Oh, dear," Ukitake gave her an apologetic look, and shrugged off his white jacket, handing it to her. "I suppose you're not really properly covered in that outfit. How about we head to Division 13 and have ourselves a cup of tea, hm?"

She nodded and snuggled into the jacket. It was big and warm and smelled like fruit and incense. Strange, but she didn't really care at the moment.

He grabbed a hold of her arm, and she suddenly felt as if the wind was knocked straight out of her lungs; the next thing she knew, she was no longer in the middle of a dark street, but in a lantern-lit ward inside yet another compound. Tenma stared up at him wide-eyed, panting, and clutching his arm for support.

Ukitake merely smiled. "Oops, maybe I ought not have done that, he chuckled.

"What the hell did you do! Teleport?"

"It's called Shunpo, Flash-stepping. Just one of many Shinigami tricks," he said matter-of-factly, leading her into what she guessed was his humble home.

And humble it sure was, with naught much more than a small bed and table in one room, a small kitchen connecting, and another room beyond that she couldn't really see into. Not long after stepping foot into the house, were they bombarded by two unfamiliar people; well, unfamiliar to her, at least. One was a small short-haired blonde girl, the other a bigger, crazy-looking brunette man.

"Captain Ukitake, sir! Are you alright?" "How are you feeling?" "Are you tired?" "Dozzy?" "Hungry?" "Would you like some tea?" "Or a hot meal?" "You took a lot longer than usual, what happened? Are you injured?" "Were you mugged?! Cause I'll avenge you if need be!" "No, I'll avenge him, Kiyone!" "Yeah right, like you can do anything with half a brain!-"

"Kiyone! Sentaro! Please!" Ukitake bellowed and the two shut up instantly. Tenma couldn't help but laugh--they reminded her of Keigo. "I would much appreciate it if you were to fetch tea for my new friend, Tenma-san, and I."

No sooner than the words leaving his mouth were they both gone in a flash, arguing the whole way. "I'll get it!" "No, _I'll_get it!"

"My third seats," Ukitake explained, taking a seat on a cushion at the table.

"Uh-huh..." she raised an eyebrow, but sat across from him nonetheless. Her knees sunk into the cushion awkwardly. Everything seemed so old-fashioned in Seireitei.

"So, tell me. Who brought you here," he urged.

She was suddenly filled with anger. "Argh! I was dragged here by Ikkaku, you know the bald one, and that queer Yumichika! I don't really know why, but they kept blabbing on about reiatsu and hollows, I dunno," she explained begrudgingly, crossing her arms. "I didn't even have a say in the matter! An now I'm here..." she concluded lamely. The two third seats were back in a flash, with cups and a hot kettle of tea. Ukitake offered them seats, which they gladly took, gushing over how gracious and kind their Captain was. He shrugged it off.

"Really? How did this all happen? Tell me everything," he said in a fatherly tone, pouring her a cup. She took it awkwardly and delved into her story.

She did tell them everything, from the night before, to Ichigo's strange behavior, to Ikkaku saving her ass twice and their trip to Seireitei. When she finished, he looked to be deep in thought. Kiyone broke the silence.

"You piggy-backed Captain Zaraki!?" she screamed. "Amazing!" Tenmasweatdropped. Of all the things to pull from that story...

Ukitake cleared his throat. "Tenma-san, rewind back to that first night, when you were headed home. You said Madarame-san shocked you when he touched you?" She nodded. "What exactly did it feel like? How big of a shock?"

She blinked. "Uh, well, like I was being electrocuted. It made my whole body tremor, and I saw red..."

"And was he invisible beforehand?" he inquired.

"Well, he appeared out of nowhere, so..."

He, too, crossed his arms and furrowed his brows. The three of them merely looked at him in confusion as the silence dragged on. Finally he looked up at her and smiled. "Tenma-san."

She raised an eyebrow.

"I'm afraid you're just a victim of circumstance," he said. She cocked her head to the side. "Well, all reiatsu have certain properties, Tenma-san. Similar properties are similar natures, and similar natures attract. There's no doubt your reiatsu is a vibrant red color, as you saw when Madarame-san "shocked" you. I could also see a faint glimmer of it when your anger rose just moments ago," he nodded.

"O...kay? But what does that have to do with anything?"

"When Madarame-san touched you, that shock you felt was your own reiatsu sucking some of his own into your body. Think of it as a positive and negative charge coming together. Since he's a full-fledged Shinigami, it magnified and multiplied your power. Hollows feed off of humans with unique reiatsu, and a mixture of human and shinigami must be a rare delicacy." Tenma cringed. "To make a long explanation short, you were in the wrong place at the wrong time--a victim of circumstance. Your reiatsu is so similar to his, that if Madarame-san hadn't have touched you, I doubt any of this would have ever happened," he concluded.

She twitched and tried to suppress her rage. It was all that bald freak's fault! "Thanks, Ukitake. I'll be sure to pass this bit of information on to him," she spoke through gritted teeth.

"It's getting a bit late," he looked out of a nearby window and said. "Captain Zaraki must be wondering where you've disappeared to." Tenma scoffed.

"You sure 'bout that? He's probably wishing I don't come back," she stood up with him and walked back outside. Sentaro was extinguishing the lantern-lights, slowly delving the place back into darkness. A large black figure leaped down to them from the nearest roof. She rolled her eyes, definitely not at all thrilled to see the great hulk of a Captain so soon.

"There ya are," he said gruffly, beckoning her onto his back.

Tenma shimmied out of the jacket and handed it back to Ukitake who bade her a good night. She clutched onto the large man's shoulders as he grabbed ahold of her legs and took off.

The cold air nipped at her newly exposed arms and legs and she shivered, burying her head into his back. "Cold," she muttered miserably. "I hate the cold..."

"Well, well. If I'd a' known you were cuddled up with that geezer, I would'a found ya before it got so cold, woman," he sneered. She rolled her eyes at his accusation.

"The fuck do you mean 'geezer'? You look older than he does, old man!" He scoffed at her.

She shivered once more. "'Ey, 'ey! You're a Shinigami, right? Use your Shunpo-thingy and get me the hell outta this cold!" she ordered.

"No."

"Why not? Ukitake said it's just a Shinigami trick! You act like I'm making you do brain surgery or something! Don't tell me you can't do it..."

Silence.

"Great, I'm stuck with the faulty Captain..."

"Shut your hole, woman, or I'll make you sleep outside!" he growled.

"Geez, sorry! Man, someone's butthurt..."

He ignored her the rest of the way.

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**A/N**: Woot! I think this is the longest one yet! Not bad for being in the hospital, eh? I hope everyone had a rockin' Halloween! I know mine was..eheh....

Uber special thanks to all my reviewers thus far: Page-Mistress, GenMcVile, Friglit, Silver Eternity, AgaruTomo, DevilChild13, xEmGai, DeathsMisfit, and my anonymous reviewers: I3Bleach, Tori-, and AkkiAsh. Thanks loads, guys!


	6. Rangiku's Advice

Blah, Blah, Disclaimer. Sorry if there's any mistakes I forgot; I was editing and listening to Type O Negative at the same time. Something you should not do. (You should try it next time you're typing...like when you send me that review..huh? huh?...aww...) But my god, their keyboardist has the most amazing hair :O

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By the time the Captain had arrived back home, Tenma was nodding in and out of sleep. She hadn't even realized they were back in the Division 11 barracks. That is, until Yachiru began screaming.

"Ken-chan! What did you do to Ten-chan?!" her shrill voice sucker-punched Tenma straight out of Dreamland and back into Hell.

"Gah, nothin', ya little brat; why'd ya hafta go'n wake 'er up for? It was nice not hearin' her mouth..." he growled at the small girl. Tenma was too tired and cold to come up with a snide remark, instead, laying her head back down on his shoulder, muttering a muffled "Fuck you" into his neck. He shivered a bit. "Go to bed, Yachiru," he said then, somewhat distractedly.

"But--what about Ten-chan?"

"She's goin' with ya."

Tenma's head snapped up in an instant. "Oh, no the hell no! I'm going home. Zaraki take me home! I wanna go home!" she flailed her legs in frustration. Yachiru looked like she would have a heart attack at any moment.

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Shuddup woman. Ya ain't goin' home." Yachiru squealed with delight.

"What? The fuck you mean, 'ya ain't goin' home'? What the hell am I supposed to do, then? Just forget about home and live with you creeps for the rest of my life?" she could feel her anger, her reiatsu--well, Ikkaku's--building up. She struggled to get free of Zaraki's hold on her legs. He let go of her and she land on her feet--for once.

"Calm down, woman, I didn't say nothin' about you livin' here, thank god..." he mumbled the last part. "Captain Yama says I gotta babysit yer ass 'til the senkai gates are operational again, 'cuz right now they're not, understand? You're not here because we _want_ you to be!" he raised his voice a bit, hoping the message would sink in. _**I don't like you, so stop talking.**_

It did; she pursed her lips and crossed her arms stubbornly. If looks could kill, that giant captain would've died a thousand deaths by now. Her reiatsu was visually boiling around her; it made the atmosphere thick and tense. They just stood there glaring at each other for a long while until Yachiru, uncomfortable, broke the silence, glancing form one angry face to the other, not quite sure what exactly was going on...

"Uh...Ken-chan--"

"Go to bed, Yachiru," his tone broke the quiet harshly, making both girls flinch.

"But...but--"

"Now," he spoke with finality, his voice thunderous. Yachiru was gone in seconds. And they were left alone...

In a flash, he lunged at her, grabbing her by the collar of her shirt and thrusting her into the wall behind her. She yelped, closing her eyes to the dizziness that had washed over her reeling head. His reiatsu, a tangible, bursting yellow, writhed and weighed down on her suddenly, pushing back the red of her own and choking her. Her knees buckled. "S-st-stop..." she coughed out.

He released her and she fell to the floor gasping for air, both red and yellow reiatsu dispersing. "Hmph," he stepped back, glaring down at her as he massaged her collarbone. It looked as if it was already starting to bruise. "So damn weak; yer all talk."

Her head shot up. "You don't know a fucking thing about me," she snapped back, this time not in the loud defiant voice he had already come to dislike, but a shaky mumble.

Was she holding back tears?

"Tch," he grimaced at that realization, a small wave of guilt hitting him. "Come on," he mumbled back at her, taking a few steps. She didn't look up, didn't move, didn't say anything, just continued to glare at the floor, lip trembling. He sighed, picking her up and slinging her over his shoulder, carrying her out of the room and into his own.

"Hope you don't mind sleeping here tonight," he sat her down on the bed. She laid out on one side, towards the wall and said nothing. It was a rhetorical statement, of course; he knew that she minded greatly. It made no difference, however. It wasn't like he could book her a hotel room, now could he? Well, he _could_, but he didn't really feel obliged to run from Seireitei to Rukongai at all hours of the day to check up on her.

Kenpachi took off his haori and captain's jacket, and cautiously slid into bed, opposite side of her. He didn't know if she would overreact or what, and for a minute he pictured her trying to scratch his eyes out...which wouldn't do much good, since the second his eye patch came off, she's probably suffocate from his reiatsu release...But Tenma didn't try to scratch his eyes out. In fact, she didn't try to do anything. Just quickly scooted over to avoid contact of any kind. She pulled the cover over her body, consequently pulling them off of the captain's hulking frame.

"Don't be a brat," he called over his shoulder at her, pulling it back, subsequently igniting a not-so-friendly round of tug-o-war. He groaned.

Zaraki Kenpachi awoke the next morning a very cold, angry, aggravated man. He didn't get much sleep the night before, due to the constant snoring, drooling, sleep talking, and kicking of his new, and unwanted, bedmate--Tenma. He woke up, slightly shivering, muscles cramped, to the sight of her sprawled out over most of the bed space, leaving him with very little considering his size, covered in his warm bedcovers, leaving him with naught but a pillow.

He ripped the sheets off of her and drug her out of bed by her ankles. His ears met a satisfying "Oof!" and a groan, bringing a sick smile to his face.

"Rise and shine, you little prick!" he teased.

The next week and few days went by pretty much the same. Yachiru would wake up complaining that Ken-chan and Ten-chan kept her up all night with their yelling; Ken-chan would subsequently tell her to suck it up and take a nap later. Tenma would sit to the side and watch—or in Ikkaku's case, make fun of—all the guys as Kenpachi drilled them through their daily training. Eventually, she'd get fed up with being stuck there and run off to explore what little of the Seireitei she could before getting lost and waiting for her favorite hulking dickweed of a Captain to find her and poke fun at her until she slapped him, which would then escalate into much verbal abuse and attempted manslaughter into the late night, only for them to fall asleep from exhaustion and wake up the next morning to repeat the cycle, with little variation.

Tenma gave an aggravated sigh. Currently, she was sitting cross-legged under a tree, her head in one hand, squiggling pictures in the dirt with the other hand. She was so bored, just sitting there, watching them just beat the shit out of each other. It was quite entertaining the first few days, getting to see all their unique abilities, but after a while, she was fed up with just watching. She wanted to join in. And she very well would have, if Kenpachi hadn't been breathing down her neck all the time, saying she was too weak for this, too fragile for that, too inexperienced to keep up. Needless to say, it pissed her off immensely. He didn't know a thing about her after all.

She grunted, standing up and wiping her dress free of dirt. It was a bit big on her, especially in the chest area. She had borrowed a few outfits from the 10th Division Lieutenant, Matsumoto Rangiku, into whom she had quite literally run into—and then bounced off of—a few days before, after she had gotten lost somewhere near the 10th Division. The busty Lieutenant had taken pity on her, living with a bunch of desensitized bullies (and Yumichika), and even took the time to check up on her now and again.

Ikkaku looked up, seeing her walk away. "Oi, woman! The hell ya think ya headin' off to?" he yelled at her, despite being less than ten feet away. Fuck, he was always yelling.

"Away from you. I'm tired of looking at the same ugly mugs 24/7," she called over her shoulder. As she left, she heard Yumichika huff and say "Well, I hope that wasn't aimed at me!"

Tenma immediately sought out the 10th Division, which wasn't that hard to find, having gone there quite a few times. Rangiku was in her office drinking, despite it being the middle of the afternoon. She smiled widely at the younger girl when she saw her. Tenma didn't hang around girls much, preferring to pal with guys or just be alone, but she had to admit—Rangiku's constant happy mood was contagious, and she was definitely a well needed change from the 11th Division goons.

"Tenma! I was just thinking about you; how are you? She practically leaped out of the chair behind her desk.

Tenma sighed. "I'm so bored. Captain fucking Zaraki won't let me do anything," she muttered. Rangiku smiled mischievously.

"Oh, is Prince Charming being a bit unfair?" she cooed. Tenma pretended to gag. Rangiku had this utterly ridiculous idea/fantasy that Captain Zaraki was secretly in love with her.

"Honestly Rangiku, I think you've had too much to drink…" she sighed.

"Oh, come on, Tenma. Don't act like you've never wanted to just run your hands down that rippling che—"

"Hey, I'm starving! How about we get something to eat, yeah?" she suggested. Rangiku agreed and they set out, that mischievous expression never leaving her face. Tenma noticed, as they were leaving the room, a rather large stack of paperwork that she was sure Rangiku was ignoring on purpose. She hadn't known the Lieutenant for long, but she wasn't a hard person to figure out.

They grabbed a quick bite to eat and returned back to her office thereafter. A few hours later found Tenma at Rangiku's desk, helping her with her paperwork (doing it all), while Rangiku lounged on the couch, drinking and chatting away, frequently returning back to Tenma's relationship with the Captain, a subject Tenma would have greatly liked to stay away from. She sent a glare at every mention of him.

"Aw, Tenma, you can't hate him that much. I'm sure he's a nice guy," she said, hanging upside down on the couch.

Tenma set her pen down roughly and let out a huff. "I can't believe what I'm hearing from you, Rangiku! Have you not heard anything I've said? He's a nightmare! He doesn't let me do anything; he gets death when I go anywhere without his permission, like he's my fucking dad or something. In the last week or so, he hasn't said one nice thing to me, without it being derogative; he argues with me all day and night; he ridicules everything I do! The list goes on, Rangiku! He's a bitch to me, and he doesn't even know me!" she threw her hands in the air.

Rangiku grinned. "Well, in all honesty, you don't know him either."

"I don't want to know him," she crossed her arms childishly.

"See what I mean? Everyone takes them so seriously around here. No one really understands that they're just a bunch of emotionally retarded thugs. That's just their way of expressing themselves. It's just like your attitude and foul language," Rangiku said thoughtfully. Tenma rolled her eyes. "You're more alike than you think. Try being nice; you never know…" she winked suggestively.

Tenma ignored her and thought on this for a while. What was she supposed to do, strike a conversation? Easier said than done. '_Yo, Zaraki! Killed anything lately?_' Psh, yeah.

She pushed the chair back from the desk and stood. "Well, I guess I'd better head back before he comes bustin' down doors. Honestly I'm surprised he hasn't been looking," she said, heading for the door.

Rangiku sat upright on the couch. "What, are you kidding me? You haven't noticed his reiatsu nearby for the last five minutes? I mean, he practically shoves it into the air!"

Tenma snorted. "Well, then I should hurry and find him before he really does start breakin' stuff. Later," she said and ducked out of the room after Rangiku's "Buh-bye!"

She took off in the direction of his reiatsu, passing a number of other shinigami on the way, each with a startled look on their face—yeah, Zaraki had been there, alright…

Thirty minutes later, she slowed to a walk, panting. She was sure she was following his reiatsu—it was unmistakable. So why the hell was she passing by the 8th Division for the fourth time? She had made sure to follow the trail of terrified people, so what the fuck? Was she lost, or was _he_? Preposterous, she figured. A Captain, lost in Seireitei? Nah! He was just probably being dumb. She chuckled. '_That's real_.' She was about to head back in—hopefully—the direction of the 11th Division when she caught sight of a head of pink in the distance, and—yep, Zaraki's scowling face.

"Ken-chan, that way! I can smell her!" Yachiru was saying, pointing in the opposite direction that she was actually in. Tenma rolled her eyes.

"Shut up, ya brat, that's the candy store, and I already told ya, ya ain't gettin' any!" he growled in frustration. "Now for the last time, ya either help me find that woman or go home."

"Hmm," the small girl pondered for a bit, chewing on her bottom lip. "That way!" Yachiru pointed to the north, which Tenma—who was Southeast of them—knew from personal experience that it only led to about six dead ends.

She figured she wouldn't let 'poor Ken-chan' suffer anymore and walked up beside them. "Looks like you're havin' some trouble there," she mocked.

Zaraki whipped around and glared at her, about to tell her off when Yachiru cheered. "Yay! I told you I'd help you find Ten-chan, Ken-chan!"

Tenma had to bite her tongue from saying anything sarcastic. He was already in a bad mood. What better time to take Rangiku's advice? So, she smiled, and hoped it wouldn't set him off in an unexplainable blind rage. In fact, it did quite opposite, he was confused as hell.

"Uh—er, where the hell have ya been," he looked at her quizzically? He could tell something was up.

'_Oh, I got I tired watching Ikkaku fail at life, so I left_,' she thought. Again, she had to stop herself. "Um, well, you know. I got bored, so I went to visit Rangiku in the 10th Division," she shrugged, effectively covering up her cringe. Being nice was hard.

"Uh-huh," he nodded as if he had made a decision. "You're drunk. No wonder…"

"What? No! We just got food and talked. I helped her with her paperwork and she drank!" she sweatdropped. It seems everyone knew about Rangiku's habits. He didn't seem convinced, however.

"Whatever, let's go home," he dismissed it and walked away. She almost had to jog to keep up with his giant strides.

Yachiru looked from Tenma to her Captain. "Huh? But Ken-chan! I thought Ten-chan had to go home!" she blurted. Zaraki froze. Tenma's head snapped up quickly.

"No, Yachiru, not 'til the gates are fixed. Now, stop talking." Tenma relaxed. For a minute, she thought she was home free.

"But Doggy-chan said—"

"—That all the gates are still broke."

"Nuh-uh!"

Tenma's head switched back and forth between the two as they argued. It was funny.

"Shut up, Yachiru," he growled, eyeing Tenma out of the corner of his eye.

But, Ken-chan!"

Zaraki tossed a shiny coin up at her. She caught it in her little fist. "There, go get some candy and leave me alone," he said. She was gone in a flash. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. This time it as Tenma's turn to stare at him oddly.

"Hey..Zaraki…"

"You shut up, too."

* * *

A/N: Yay! I updated! I hope everyone had a fantastical Thanksgiving! I seriously think I gained like 30 pounds, no joke. Thanks to my equally fantastical reviewers:

Seiryuuchan

I3Bleach

Lakis

Sulhadahne


	7. Stranded

Disclaimer: Same as always...yeah

A/N: SO SORRY it took me like over 9000 months to get this out. It's been such a difficult time for me. Deaths in the family, scholarships...and TAXES! yeah, you heard right...I'm getting a tax return for the first time in my life! I feel so grown up with my meager 300 dollars...haha. Well, enjoy folks.

* * *

"Ten-chan...Ten-chan!...Ten-chan?...Hey! Hey, Ten-chan!"

Kenpachi looked up from his resting spot under a shady tree, giving Yachiru an annoyed look. The pink haired child stood just in front of the angry teen, who was sprawled out on her stomach constructing a house--or whatever the fuck it was--out of sticks, leaves, dirt, and good old-fashioned spit. She was making an extra effort to ignore the child; that much was obvious by the sour look on her face. The child continued to belt out her name like a metronome.

Kenpachi growled. "Answer the damn girl, woman, so she can shut the hell up," he ordered.

Tenma pointed a twig at the hulk of a captain. "I thought you were sleeping, old man!" His exposed eye twitched.

"Old m-"

"HEY! Why do you answer Ken-chan and not Yachiru?" she blurted, effectively cutting off whatever surely unimportant comeback Kenpachi had. She had a gigantic frown on her face and her big eyes were threatening to tear up.

"Look at what ya did," Kenpachi rolled his eyes. Tenma the same.

"Jesus Christ on a stick, fine! Yachiru, whaddya want?"

The girl's eyes lit up instantly...And then her smile turned back into a frown. "I forgot." The bundle of sticks in Tenma's hand snapped in half. Her teeth grinded against each other as she glared at her. Kenpachi let out a lazy chuckle. "Whatcha doin'?" she leaned into the older girl's 'space'.

Tenma huffed. "Buildin' stuff."

"Buildin' what?"

"I don't know," she grunted, holding her head.

"Can I help?"

Tenma glared up at the child once again, who just stood there and waited patiently for an answer. She sat up, coming face to face with her. "Yachiru, why don't you go play in traffic?" se mocked a sincere smile.

Yachiru just laughed. "Silly! There's no traffic in Seireitei!"

"Oh, right," Tenma slumped her shoulders. "Well, hey, what about this. You go make a four way traffic stop and then go play in it."

"Okay!" the child jumped up and took off. Tenma sighed in relief and went back to her creation, every now and then pausing to hold her head in her hands.

"Whatsamatter with ya?" Kenpachi spoke up after a while. By now she had stopped working completely, her head caught in a vice grip between her knees. "Ya sick?"

She shook her head, but it was a while before she could speak. Her voice came out in a shudder. "N-no...no...I just...I've been having these recurring headaches that just come and go over the past couple of days. I think that damn kid just made it worse...God, I hate kids..." she sighed helplessly.

"Hn, that's not very nice." She whipped her head around to glare at him, who was lying on his side at the trunk of the tree, head propped lazily in his palm. Oh, she wanted to smack that damn smirk off of his stupid face. She was in pain goddammit!

"Pipe down, you old timer," she managed a sneer, and he sat up. "Ah!" she scooted herself backwards, arm up in defence for when he jumped her.

But he didn't jump her, much to her relief. He merely stood and gave her an annoyed look before walking away, muttering something about respect.

Tenma scoffed. "Oi!" she made to jump up and follow him. "You can't just leave me all alone like tha...ugghh..." she swooned. She halted to keep herself from swaying. The brute, being the asshole he was, just kept on walking. She gave a huff and glared at his back and took a step to pursue him. "Goddammit...Zaraki," her vision blurred. She swayed forward and panicked. "Ken...pa...chi..." she whimpered.

"Shit, woman," he grumbled. The small sound of bells chiming and his quick heavy footsteps rushing toward her were all she could hear, the fast approaching ground was asll she could see.

And then...blackness.

* * *

Tenma didn't know how long she had passed out for; hell, she had no way of knowing. She had expected to wake up in a bed somewhere, under warm blankets with a comfortable pillow. What was not anticipated was her regaining consciousness to be met with the sound of birds singing, the soft breeze and warm sunlight caressing her flesh, nor the tickle of grass on her face and arms.

Thusly, she had concluded that Kenpachi was a heartless cockbreath ogre that didn't even bother to help her off the ground. The one time she needed him! When she got the fuck off the ground, he was gonna have hell to pay!

"Ugh," she sat up with a small degree of difficulty. She spat grass out of her mouth. "What the...Where the hell...?" she looked around. There was no resting tree, no more barracks, no more training grounds...no 11th Division! Which, in any other circumstance, it would've been a miracle. Tenma scrambled to her feet.

She was in a field on the edge of a dead looking forest of trees. Wisps of wheat and blood red poppies littered the rolling hills ahead of her. Above, the sky was dark and the clouds were rolling in, as if the rains were coming, yet it wasn't corld or chilly in the slightest. It looked familiar, yet she was positive she had never been in a place like that. The scenery was unnerving, maybe even a bit scary, but for some reason, she felt secure.

"He-hello?" she squeaked, looking around timidly. She may have felt secure, but that only made her even more frightened. Besides, overconfidence is what always got those dumb teenagers killed in the thrillers, right? Yeah, exactly.

Her near shoulder-lengthed hair brushed against her face as a soft, warm gust of wind picked up, then died again a moment later. It sounded like a whisper. She whirled around to face the dying breeze. Nothing. "Hello?" she called out, a little bit bravely, she might add. Still no response. So, Tenma decided to explore...anything to get away from those creepy looking trees.

And she walked...and walked...and walked. "Fuck," she mumbled. "Never wear fucking shorts in a wheat field."

She trekked over the first couple of hills, searching, searching for anything, really. Where the hell was she? How the shit did she get there? Tenma stopped atop the tallest hill she could find and scanned the area. There was nothing but wheat and poppies stretching as far as she could see one way, and dead, lanky trees spanning just as far the other way. She huffed and plopped down in an empty patch of dead grass, the stalks constricting her view of everything but the blue-grey sky above her.

Was it possible that she was in Rukongai? She remembered one conversation with Zaraki--well, an argument, really--where she had asked him where Rukongai was and if it was possible to run away there and hide from his ugly mug. He had scoffed and told her that it was just 'miles and miles o' bullshit' and that he'd leave he stranded there if he could. Well, she decided, _this_ was miles and miles of bullshit if she had ever seen it, and she was most definitely stranded.

She groaned and rolled over on her stomach. That fucking gorilla would pull some shit like this! He finally got so tired of her, he had to leave her in an endless field of preprocessed bread to die! She snatched up a wheat stalk off the ground and took a bite. Hmph! Well, she wasn't gonna starve to death! A thoughtful expression donned her face as she chewed...before spitting the vile substance out of her mouth and wiping her tongue on her sleeve. Okay, not a good idea. Just great; she _was_ gonna die!

Another sudden breeze picked up--this one stronger; Tenma had to shield her eyes from the dirt and grass. Again there was the faint sound of a whisper...and the soft touch of a hand against her arm...

She jumped, and she looked around with a wild, wide-eyed expression. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. She was going insane...

"It's 'cuz I'm sitting still. Gotta get the blood pumping!..." she gave herself a little pep talk and jumped up to run in place. "There's no such thing as ghosts. There's no such thi-" another gust and whisper. It felt angry. "Run!...I mean, yeah. That's what I need. A jog. If I move around, someone's gotta notice me and I'll be rescued," she reasoned with herself and descended down the hill. She was working herself into madness--she could feel it.

"Stupid Zaraki," she mumbled. It was his fault she was in this mess in the first place, she was sure of it. Only a seriously fucked up individual such as he would have the audacity to abduct a poor teenaged girl after she's passed out and dump her in a big empty field. Who knows what kind of sick, disgusting, violating things he might've done to her poor body! "Oh my--" she stopped running and blushed...No, no, no! What would Zaraki want with her anyway? She wasn't as pretty as Orihime, or as busty as Rangiku. Pfft, she was a fucking size B for crying out loud!...She shook her head. Ugh, what was she saying. Her B's were wonderful, and if anyone disagreed, she'd rip off their ball sack and make them eat it! Shoukyaku Tenma did not doubt herself in any way, especially over some guy, especially _**especially **_over some guy with no eyebrows, a big beak-nose, 3rd grade grammar skills, and a stick up his ass.

Shoukyaku Tenma was, is, and always will be the fuckin' shit.

She sighed. Oh, who was she kidding? She was sad, lonely, and stuck stranded in a wheat field with no food, water, alcohol, or change of clothes, and she was most definitely in need of a pack of cigarettes to calm her little ass down right about then.

She took one more look around. Still fucking nothing. Finally she snapped. "Aaaaaaaauuuugggghhhh!" she let out a crazy, mangled, scream at the top of her lungs. Black birds took off from the distant trees as her scream's echo reverberated off of the nothingness of the atmosphere. "FUCK! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Shit piss cock tits ass motherfuck!" she cursed until her throat became sore. She was panting by then, exhausted, and collasped to her knees. Once again, her vision was obscured by the tall stalks.

A flood of helpess tears began to flow. She was alone...and her damn legs were still itchy...

* * *

A/N: Whew! So this is the fruit of my responsibility-shirking labor over the past week. I blew off an English essay to do this, then did the essay in 10 minutes on the day it was due and got a 92%. Am I good or what? And of course, I can't forget my darling reviewers:

Flarire, slice-zeta-magic101, Miko-Valkov, Friglit, I'llxBexUrxEnigma2010, Phoenocia, Gem of the Stars, xX Charlie Purple Xx, Tsukiko-Hinapouri, darkheart1992, Captain Riley, Emerald Gaze


	8. Can Men Even BE Maids?

Disclaimer: Dont own, don't sue...blah blah

A/N: Okay, so today is officially my last day as a civilian. Tomorrow morning I will be shipped off to bootcamp for 2 grueling months of Navy preparation. To be completely honest, I'm scared shitless, but I have to remember that I need the money for college, so therefore I will stop being a little bitch and just go with it. This will be the last update for at least 3 to 4 months, possibly even longer, depending on when I'll finally be able to afford a laptop and internet. Of course, all this is depending on whether or not I get kicked out of the military for Vulcan nerve pinching my superior officers for screaming at me. Who knows. Only time will tell.

Anyhoo, hope you enjoy this one, and everyone have a great rest of the summer/fall and I'll update when I can. Wish me luck!

* * *

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" Kenpachi grumbled to himself, the limp form of Tenma in his arms.

he didn't know what the fuck happened. One minute she was calling him names and the next, she was on the ground. He pondered running over to the 4th division and bullying someone into taking a look at her. No, wait. He couldn't do that. She wasn't even technically supposed to be there. He just stood there in that same spot pondering, while Tenma just lay limp and drooling, until another voice broke his train of thought.

"Ten-chan! Ten-chan! I need help making the tra-" Yachiru came bounding out of nowhere and landed on the unconscious girl. She gasped. "Ken-chan! You killed Ten-chan!"

"Quiet, ya runt! I didn't kill nobody. She just klonked out; I dunno what happened," he defended himself from the child's accusation.

She finally quieted down, staring up at him. "Why didn't you take her to Braidy-chan?"

Kenpachi sighed. "Can't, kid."

"But Ten-chan needs help! We gotta go to Braidy-chan!"

He contemplated his options for a while before nodding his head. "We can't go to the 4th Division; that's too much trouble waitin' to happen." He narrowed his eyes. "Theree's only one woman that can help us now."

Kenpachi skidded to a halt in front of the office. With one swift kick, the offending door was blown off its hinges and across the room. "You there!" he barked in his 'captain's voice', as Tenma had come to call it. Yachiru burst into a fit of laughter.

Yumichika looked up from his work and sighed. "Yes, Captain?" he drawled, knowing it would be something completely ridiculous. Kenpachi dumped Tenma's body onto the desk in a heap.

"Whoa! Wait, Captain! What...what is Tenma still doing here?"

"Shut up and fix it," the bigger male pointed to her, sprawled out haphazardously all over whatever it was Yumichika had been previously working on.

Yumichika gave him a bewildered look. "Fix it? What do you mean 'fix it'? What did you do?"

The Captain's eye twitched. He opened his mouth, ready to defend himself once again, when Yachiru jumped in.

"Ken-chan killed Ten-chan!" she wailed.

"I thought I told ya to be quiet!" he snarled.

Yumichika sighed again, leaning over to check her pulse. "Just tell me what happened."

Yachiru jumped at the opportunity to open her mouth again. "Ten-chan was ignoring me and I tried to play with her cuz she was buildin' stuff, and I wanted to build stuff, too, and Ken-chan was taking a nap, and then he got mad at Ten-chan and yelled at her, and then Ten-chan got mad and yelled back at Ken-chan, and then Ten-chan told me to go play in traffic," she took a gasping breath, "so I went to go find Booby-chan so she could help me make traffic, but she was passed out so I went to go find someone else but everybody was busy, so I came back to ask Ten-chan if she would help me, but she can't 'cause she's DEAD!" Yachiru finished all in one run-on sentence, waving her arms dramatically.

"She's right. Dead."

"I fuckin' said I didn'...What did ya say?" Kenpachi turned to Yumichika.

He had one hand on her jugular, two fingers on her wrist, and his head against her chest. "No pulse. Anywhere."

It was quiet for a while as the words sunk in. Kenpachi glared at his 5th seat. "What?"

Yumichika sighed for a third time, flipping his hair in annoyance. "Her heart isn't beating, Captain," he stated firmly. Kenpachi's body went rigid. "I'll check again if you'd li-"

He didn't have time to finish his sentence before a gust of wind signaled his leave, the comatose Tenma gone with him. He looked down at his desk, now littered with crumpled paper and spilt ink. "Such an ugly mess," he muttered, shaking his pretty head before following his foolhardy captain.

It took no time at all for him to get to the 4th division at the speed he was going. Kenpachi burst through the door angrily. "Where's Unohana?" he ordered. They all scampered away like roaches, screaming for their Captain. He huffed and looked down at Tenma. She looked fine, peaceful, like she was sleeping, yet she was considerably warmer than she was earlier. And her face; her pretty face was all flushed and blotchy.

"You needed me for something, Captain Zaraki? came Unohana's sweet voice. He hadn't even heard her approach him, nor did he notice when Yumichika had arrived, who had appeared beside him, slightly out of breath. "uhh..." he looked back down at the girl in his arms. How was he supposed to explain this?

"Hm," she felt the girl's forehead. "Let's get her to a room so I can take a look at her," she said and beckoned them to a nearby room. Kenpachi laid her out, carefully this time, on the soft bed.

"She didn't have a pulse, the last time I checked," Yumichika spoke up. Yachiru was ready to burst into tears, yet again.

Unohana bent over to check her pulse. "Is that so? Captain Zaraki, if you would please tell me what happened," she suggested without looking up.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I didn't do anything, if that what's yer sayin'."

"Of course not," she answered and sat up to look at the three of them. "Well, she does indeed have no detectable pulse." She smiled sincerely when his fists clenched. "Don't worry, she's not dead. She's way too warm to be dead. There's something in her internal system providing heat so her temperature stays high, and if her body is capable of that, then she isn't dead. Her pulse is either too weak, or too slow for me to detect. The same for her breathing. I'd say her state now is basically summed up as hypothermic suspended animation."

Yumichika nodded as if he understood perfectly. Kenpachi stared at her dumbly.

"Do you know what that is, Captain?" she tilted her head and asked.

"Uh...yeah....yeah, o' course...hyper...animation, yeah..." he mumbled, scratching the back of his head. Unohana chuckled. Yumichika rolled his eyes.

"Well, then if that's the case, you _should_ know that she needs plenty of rest until her internal system puts itself back on track. It'd be best if you left her here under _my_care, even though the Captain General put you in charge of looking after h--" Before she could even finish, Kenpachi had propped open the window, jumped out of it, and taken off. "Did I say something...?"

Kenpachi scoffed to himself. Damn Unohana, trying to insult his intelligence. She was a little too damn snippy for his taste, always hiding it behind that 'sweet, motherly exterior' of hers. And so -abruptly- bringing up Captain Yamamoto? Che, yeah. She didn't fool him. She was out to get him! *shifty eyes*

He didn't go straight back to his division. There was nothing there that would distract him from his unusual thoughts. Why he was thinking them in the first place, he didn't have the slightest clue. But anything that reminded him of that girl was bad. Very bad. He needed a drink.

Before he could even make up his mind to go, he was already standing in front of the nearest bar. His body knew himself more than he did, he mused as he walked through the door.

"C-Captain Zaraki!' stuttered one man, and every head in the room snapped in his direction. He rolled his eyes and took a seat off to himself. He waved another man over.

"How are ya this afternoon Captain? Haven't seen ya much around here lately," the familiar man greeted him, setting four sake bottles in front of him.

"I just been...preoccupied. Keep 'em comin'," he ordered, taking up one bottle in his hand and downing it professionally. He gave an exhale of contentment as he scanned the room of drunks with a lazy gaze. It was such a laid back atmosphere, everyone seemed to be having a good time smoking, drinking, gambling, enjoying the company of others. For a minute, he began wondering why he hadn't stopped by in the past few weeks. He certainly could've used the break.

He set his second bottle down suddenly. That damn woman; that was why. She had taken up all of his spare time. Not to mention the fact that she was the reason he needed to come here in the first place. Whatever. But it was true. When he wasn't drilling his division, or taking care of some other Captain-like duty of his, or avoiding it for that matter, he was with Tenma--arguing, assaulting, and generally aggravating Tenma.

He smirked a little at the thought, as he downed the second bottle and reached for the third. The didn't really mind giving up his time for her, at least, not as much as he used to. Before, he couldn't stand the sight of her, or the thought of Captain Yamamoto putting him on babysitting duty. Frankly, he had better things to do with his time than running around fixing all of her messes, dragging her around the compound, floowing her to see that she doesn't permanently damage anything, and making sure she didn't drive any of his men to suicide. Sometimes it felt more like maid-work than babysitting.

But he couldn't deny that he didn't grow to enjoy if for the most part. Kenpachi absolutely hated the fact that she refused to do anything he'd say, and always managed to cause a scene while doing so. He hated the way she bitched about every little thing and expected him to comply, to wait on hand and knee like some obedient slave. However, it was that same feisty attitude, that defiant spark that made him lie to her, to keep her here, close to him, against her will. Of course, she didn't know that, and he'd be damned if he'd let _anyone_ fuck that up and get her sent away.

_Unohana_, he thought accusingly.

Sure, it was a little strange, especially since she so blatantly expressed her disgust at his very presence on more than one occasion, and his actions toward her didn't exactly help, but still...He just wanted her near--at least for a little while longer. It was obvious to him that Unohana knew that she should've been sent home over a week ago. I t would only be just like the 4th division Captain to voice her concern to the Captain General, especially about Tenma's current state. And then he'd be in deep shit. Deep, smoldering, metaphorical shit. (That he would just have to clean up because of her later. Like a MAID.) He just wanted her for a little while longer...

A clearing of the throat shattered the hulking Captain's thoughts. He snapped his head up, annoyed at the man he had spoken to earlier.

"I-I brought your drinks, sir," he said, a little hesitantly, motioning towards a tray of bottles. Kenpachi grunted and looked away again. "Ya okay, Captain? Yer lookin' kinda down," he added.

Kenpachi abruptly stood up. "Er, yeah, I'm fine," he said, throwing some money on the table. "Keep the change," he told the man as he headed out the door.

He didn't know where to go after that. Drinking had dome nothing to clear his mind; if anything, they intensified them. He wanted to see her, but then again, he didn't. What would he say to a girl in a coma? Would Unohana confront him? He didn't really feel like answering for his actions as of late. He, he couldn't even explain them to himself!

He didn't know what to do with himself. Ikkaku was back in the world of the living, finishing off his duties from before he and Yumichika had returned with Tenma, over three weeks ago. Yumichika was more than likely still at the 4th division watching over her, along with Yachiru. He was really the closest thing to a friend that Tenma had in the 11th, the term friend used extremely loosely. Still, they could be seen talking together every now and then over the past few weeks.

Three weeks. Had it really been that long? He sighed. It didn't feel like it at all...

He shook his head and growled. He honestly couldn't comprehend how everything became so frustrating all of a sudden. "I need a fuckin' nap..." he grumbled decidedly, heading off toward the 11th.

"Captain Zaraki! Captain!"

About halfway back, he turned to the sound of his name being called. A young 4th division member halted a few feet away, bent over and panting. "Cap-Captain Zaraki, my name is Yamada Hanataro," he managed between gasps. The Captain raised a hairless brow as if to say "And?" "The girl...that you brought in earlier..."

Kenpachi turned to him fully, and approached him quickly, easily towering over the small healer.

"I-I-I was sent...to tell you that she has awakened, and..." he never got to finish his sentence before the captain had shoved him out of the way and ran off.

It seemed like it took forever to get to the 4th division, though at the speed he was going, it had to have taken less that a minute. "Where is she?" he burst into the entrance and demanded; once again he was met by wide, terrified stares. He groaned and started down the hallway he had taken the last tim, bounding into the same room she had been in only a couple of hours past. He growled and sped down another hall, knocking down a few division members in the process.

"Ow! Owowowowowowow!! Mediiiiiic!" came a shrill scream from down one way. Tenma's shrill scream, he noted, and took off at a speed the Flash would've been envious of.

Kenpachi skidded to a halt in the doorway. Tenma lay on her back in the hospital bed, yelling obscenities at Yachiru, who had latched onto her, and at Yumichika, who was trying, very much in vain, to pry her off.

"Yachiru! Cut it out!" Kenpachi bellowed in his 'Captain's voice', and she was quick to comply. Yumichika gave a sigh of relief as he set her in his lap.

Tenma sat back in her bed, exhausted, panting and sweating as if she had just fought off a Menos with her bare hands...if she even knew what a Menos was...moving on...

He looked over her carefully from the doorway. Her eyes were snapped shut, her brows furrowed, her face flushed. She seemed quite different somehow. He could sense it. He sauntered over to her side and kneeled, wiping her sweat-drenched hair from her face and placing his palm on her forehead, unaware of the look exchanged between the other two in the room. Tenma's eyes slowly fluttered back open.

"Hey...you're not a medic," she said quietly, wincing a little as she tried to smile. "I demand my needs be met..."

"Shut up and rest, woman. Ya look like hell."

She just chuckled a bit and turned her head to face him. He couldn't help the small dropping feeling in his stomach at the look in her eyes. He couldn't quite place it, but hell, he sure liked it.

Well, I can rest easy, now that you're here," she said, a bit above a whisper.

He felt the same dropping feeling repeat itself, and the edges of his lips twitched upward for a second. "Why's that?" he exhaled.

She turned her head back to face the ceiling and closed her eyes, sighing contentedly. "Because, like I said, I demand my needs be met. I require Yachiru to be kept in check, so hop to it," she snapped her fingers at him, before turning over and snuggling into her pillow.

Che," he looked away and shook his head. "Slave-drivin' little cretin," he mumbled.

* * *

Don't worry, shit will be explained soon. :P

Thanks to all those that read and review. You make me so very happy, even if I'm lazy and don't update as much as I used to.

Special thanks to: Kira_michi, VampireArgonian92, Tsukiko-Hinapouri, I'llxBexUrxEnigma2010, JJ-Jefferu, darkheart1992


	9. Enter, The Fever

A/N: HAAAY GUYYYSSSS! GUESS WHO'S STILL ALIVE?! Yeah, go on, admit it, you missed me! =D

Just wanted to say thank you for everyone who reviewed while I was away and motivated me to get back on here. TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY! Wooot! In my family, we have this tradition where on a special event, when we receive gifts, we must return the good notion with something similar. I received a crap tons of well-wishing and gifts for my birthday, so my friends and family get a little special somethin'-somethin'. And you guys...GET AN UPDATE! Enjoy! =]

Please excuse any and all grammar errors that I may have missed.

Disclaimer: Blah, blah, don't own, don't profit. CONTINUING ONWAAAARD!

* * *

Tenma huffed in a very aggravated, very Tenma-like way. It had been two days since the incident at the 4th Division, and she had to admit, things were getting pretty weird.

For one, Yachiru had abandoned the "Yay, you're my best friend, so play with me 'til your head explodes" attitude, much to her relief, and replaced it with a "omg, I can't believe you're alive, you're my best friend so let me blab on about how much I missed you 'til your head explodes", much to her chagrin. It seemed like every time she saw the girl, she latched onto the closest limb and began spewing about how she thought Ken-chan had murdered her, and how her life would never be the same without her bestest friend Ten-chan. At which, Tenma would reply that she had only known her for 3 weeks and to get the fuck over it. She never did.

For two, Yumichika had taken an unexpected interest in someone's life other than his own, willing to take the latter part of the last few afternoons to sit and make small talk with her to ease her boredom. It was…cool…to have someone to talk to that wouldn't either punch you, nor annoy the shit out of you, and to keep the little pink monster when her sniffling escapades grew to be too much for Tenma's frail state to handle.

For three, where the hell was Ikkaku?

And four, Zaraki had been 2.001536% nicer to her as of late. To anyone else observing, he might've come off as no different than before—still rude, annoying, and unprovoked in his attempts to make her life hell. But Tenma could sense a bit less hostility behind his words and bit more gentleness in his touch when he dragged her around the barracks (sometimes by the ankle, like the barbarian caveman we all know him to be, har-har), as if he were handling something easily breakable…that he would just so happen to be dragging along behind him…who knows? Maybe she was just making excuses for the poor brute, who had inexplicably wormed himself into her life and made a soft spot for himself in her heart. Wishful thinking, perhaps? Maybe she was just imagining that little glint in his eye when he glared into hers, or the way her name just exploded from his mouth so easily. Ah well, it didn't really matter. Once the gates were fixed, she'd just go home and probably never see him again, anyhow. It wasn't like she saw him much lately anyway. He never disturbed her increasing number of naps that she took during the day, anywhere and everywhere, though he did seem a bit bothered. He never complained about it, however, and she liked it that way.

Tenma sat at her usual spot on the porch-like step in front of Zaraki's office, watching Yumichika spar with some poor hapless fucker. It didn't last very long—five minutes later, the guy was shakily pulling himself up from the ground as Yumichika strolled over to her in all his shining homosexual glory, bidding his zanpakuto into its simplest form and sheathing it as he took a seat beside her.

"Enjoy the show?" he grinned a dazzling grin at her and she snorted.

"I'm just glad I didn't have to waste any money," she flashed a smirk of her own. He scoffed and muttered, "Jealous," under his breath before turning and nodding at the lower member, who had approached them and bowed to Yumichika, thanking him for the quick lesson.

He watched as the lower member stalked off to who-knows-where and sighed as he disappeared around the corner. "Poor man. Tomorrow is his first mission away from the division. He came to me asking for pointers. The guy's a nervous wreck." He turned to the unusually quiet girl beside him with a thoughtful look. "And what about you? You're looking particularly unbeautiful today," he said, pointing out her dry, puffy eyes, and a slight bruise peeking out from under the collar of her shirt. She subconsciously rubbed her fingers over it.

"Nah, its nothing. Zaraki just being a douche bag as per usual," she replied.

"Douche bag? As ugly as that word is, I'd think you'd have something more derogatory to say about him. You really must be feeling under the weather, hm?"

Tenma just shrugged. "I dunno. I'm just not feelin' myself lately, ya know? I'm sweatin' up a storm," she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, showing him the perspiration, "And it's like no matter how much sleep I get, I still feel like I'm not getting enough rest. I'm still as dead tired as before and I've taken two naps today. Not to mention when I go to the bathroom, it feels like I'm giving birth to a lumberjack, ax and all…" she threw up her hands lamely and shook her head.

"Ew," was all Yumichika had to say.

"I know! I just can't get outta think funk I'm in…"

Yumichika sighed. "Well, nevertheless, the Captain should be more careful with you. You'll bruise more easily in the state that you're in, and bruises are so very unattractive."

Tenma looked up at him oddly. "State? Tell me, Doctor Ayasegawa, what state is it that you're referring to?"

"Well, 'm talking about the state of your reiatsu, of course, and the fact that your tank seems to be running on empty. It's odd, really. When you arrived here, you had so much. And it was so potent for someone who's never used it before. But now I barely sense any at all. It used to feel something like Ikkaku's reiatsu, but now it's just…lacking. Like a soft drink that's lost its fizz…"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "So I'm like a flat soda?" He nodded. "Serious? How do I get it back, then?" she asked him. He shook his head at this.

"Beats me. If food and sleep aren't helping then I don't know what will. Honestly it's like you just used it all up!"

Tenma froze.

Used it all up…Of course! She turned her body to fully face him, her eyes wide with discovery. Yumichika leaned back, slightly alarmed.

"What? Is there something on my face?!" his hands flew to his cheeks.

"No! No! I understand now. It's something Ukitake told me like a month ago."

"Ukitake?" his hands slid down from his face slowly.

She nodded her head vigorously. "Yeah, some old guy I met the night you kidnapped me and brought me here—" He scoffed at this. "—He's a Captain, I think."

He waved it off hurriedly," Yes, yes. Of Division 13, I know him. Now—what did he tell you?"

"My reiatsu. The reason it feels so much like Ikkaku's is because, well, it is his. For the most part." Yumichika gave her a confused look. "I sucked in some of his reiatsu the day before I met you. He ran into me and I just—whoosh!" She made a pulling motion toward her chest. "I must have just used it all up when I woke up in—" she paused.

That damn place. She must have used it all up in that place with the poppies. At first, she had thought it was just some place out in Rukongai that Zaraki had dumped her in to die, but when she fell asleep, exhausted from wandering, she had woken up in the 4th Division. And she found that every time she laid her head down to rest, she'd wind up in the same place, to wander alone until she laid her tired head down again, only to wake up in the 11th Division. In truth, she got no rest at all, but no matter how hard she'd try, she never could get a normal nap in.

She never told anyone, never said anything about it. Would anyone even believe her? A field that she only visited in her dreams? How could a dream suck the life out of you? And more importantly, how do you stop it?

"Woke up in what?" Yumichika prompted, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Er, nevermind about that. Look, I need Ikkaku. Is he even here? I haven't seen his bald ass in ages!" she mumbled, looking around.

"Not for another week or so, sorry. He's uh…on patrol in the Rukongai. What do you plan to do with him, exactly?"

Tenma tilted her head up and furrowed her eyebrows. "Shit if I know. Last time I just sucked it outta him. Maybe I can do it again?"

Yumichika shrugged, just as a figure in the distance just over is shoulder caught Tenma's eye.

"Hm? Who's that?" she inclined her head in the newcomer's direction. He looked back and froze up a bit. "What is it?"

"Uh-oh," was all he muttered before turning to her again. "That's Captain Unohana of the 4th Division. She's the one who looked after you when you were out cold. Don't you remember?"

She merely yawned and gave him a dead stare. Yumichika sweatdropped.

"Of course you don't," he sighed before standing to greet their visitor. "Captain Unohana, what a pleasant surprise."

"Hello there Yumichika-san. It's good to see you well, Tenma," she added with a smile to the girl, who merely stared back dumbfounded and muttered a "Uh, yeah…hi…"

Yumichika rolled his eyes. "Please excuse her, she's still a little out of it."

"Oh, of course; I understand perfectly," she stifled a giggle behind her dainty little hand. "I was wondering, Yumichika-san, if I could request a private audience with your Captain. There are…important matters that need to be discussed," she added a bit tensely.

"Um…well…" he fumbled with the hem of his orange collar. "I believe Captain Zaraki is…er, busy…with paperwork…right now…"

Both females raised an eyebrow at him. Really? Zaraki doing paperwork?

"I see," Unohana nodded, a bit of skepticism seeping into her voice. "Well, then, I suppose I'll—"

"Oh, please, Zaraki's never busy! He's probably just sittin' in his office scratchin' his balls or something. Come on, lady, I'll take ya to 'im," Tenma sat up and grabbed the 4th Division Captain by the wrist and led her towards Zaraki's office door.

Yumichika watched them both disappear behind the door and sighed. For the record, he tried.

* * *

Zaraki had successfully holed himself up in his office for the entire day. He found that he'd been doing that a lot these past few days. It was the only place he could find that he could be alone and work off the ever-growing headache that Tenma would frequently cause him. No one would bother him, fortunately, under the pretense that he had 'Captainy' stuff to do…He may or may not have threatened to smash in a few clavicles as well.

Which is exactly why women's chattering and footsteps racing towards his office door came as such a surprise, one that became even greater when said door slammed roughly open, allowing two women to intrude into his little getaway domain. And not just any two women, ohhhh no! The only two women that he'd rather smash his own clavicle in than deal with at the moment: Tenma the Teenaged Terror, and Unohana Retsu.

He glared up at the two intruders from his place sprawled out on the couch, one leg draped over the arm, the other hanging to the floor, one hand pinching the bridge of his nose in aggravation. He groaned, "What?"

"See? I told ya. He's useless," Tenma let go of the 4th Division Captain and crossed her arms, shaking her head in scorn.

"Ya better watch it, woman…" he growled.

"You watch it, old fart!" she snapped back, before jumping behind Unohana when he rose halfway from the couch, glare intensified tenfold.

Unohana didn't seem perturbed in the slightest, instead, smiling warmly at the two as they sent each other smoldering glares of death. She could just feel the love in the room (sarcasm very much intended).

"So sorry to interrupt you two, but you and I must discuss a very important matter, Captain Zaraki," Unohana spoke up after a minute or so.

He turned his glare onto her and huffed. "Get lost, Unohana. I'm busy," he said, once again reclining on the couch with his hands behind his head and his eyes closed.

Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly…

"Hey! You can't talk to her like that! She's more of a Captain than you are!"

Zaraki snorted at this; Unohana gave her a sincere smile.

"Tenma-san, if you will excuse us, please?" she asked politely.

Tenma glared from the older woman, to the big fat douche on the couch, and back to the older woman before her with a wary eye. "I dunno…He's a psycho. Maybe I should stay here, y'know, just in case something happens…"

"Thank you for your concern, Tenma-san, but I assure you, I can hand—"

"And what're you gonna do, ya runt?" Zaraki chuckled lazily at her, not even dignifying her with a glance. To be honest, it caught her off guard.

"Uh-er…em…I-I…I could call for help!...or something…"

"Ya wouldn't have the chance to, woman, trust me."

"Ugh! You are such an arrogant asshat, ya know tha—"

"Tenma-san," Unohana's steady voice broke her from what was sure to be a long-winded, rage-filled rant. Tenma looked up at the older woman in surprise at the interruption. "Please, excuse us," she said simply, slowly, and politely, although her tone was enough to send shivers down Tenma's spine and make her blood run cold. She stood there for a moment sputtering nonsense until she could finaly blurt out a shaky "Sure!" and ran for the door, slamming it closed behind her.

The two Captains stared at the door for a few moments.

"Such a sweet girl," Unohana smiled, turning back to Zaraki.

"Che, that's what you think," he got up and sat behind his desk. "There a way I can get rid o' you, too?"

She chuckled lightly as she pulled the chair from Yachiru's desk up to his, vaguely wondering if Yachiru ever used her desk for anything other than coloring. "Not yet, Captain."

He groaned. "Then hurry it up, I ain't got all damn day."

"Of course. I merely requested an audience with you because I was slightly confused as to why the human girl is still residing in the Seireitei weeks after the gates have been fixed." She watched him flinch, ever so slightly. "That is, until I observed how you two interact with each other. I admit, I had a hunch, but I wasn't quite sure until now."

He snarled lowly at her. "The hell's that supposed to mean, Unohana?"

The female Captain merely contemplated the angry man before her with somber eyes. In truth, he wasn't a terribly difficult man to figure out. She knew that this negative attitude did not sprout from anger towards the woman, nor towards the girl, but merely embarrassment at being caught red-handed. The Senkaimon gates had been reopened some days ago. Yet here the girl still was, holed up in the 11th Division, unbeknownst to the rest of the Gotei 13. There really could only be one explanation as to why such a man as Zaraki Kenpachi would do a thing like this…

"You care for the girl, don't you…?" she asked quietly.

He heard nonetheless, his head snapping up in an instant, the bells at the end of his hair jingling at the sudden movement. His lone exposed eye grew wide for a second before narrowing maliciously. "Don't even think about—"

His threat was stopped short by a shrill scream from just outside the door. Both Captains whirled around at the sound.

"What on Earth—"

"Ugh, that was Tenma!" he jumped up and flew past her and out the door before she could even finish her sentence. "What the hell's goin' on out here?" he bellowed as he threw the door open.

Before him crouched Yumichika on the grass in front of the steps, looking shaken. His arms grasped Tenma's limp shoulders, her body collapsed on the grass, her head tilted back, staring back at the Captain with lifeless dark eyes. He grew enraged in an instant.

"C-captain! I don't know! We were sitting here conversing, and then all of a sudden she jumped up and started screaming! And then she just…collapsed! I really don't know, Captain!" He spoke quickly, eager to get the words out, as if they would cool the scorching glare Zaraki sent at him.

"Goddammit, Yuimichika, you—"

"Captain Zaraki, please. We will have time to figure this out later. Right now, we need to get her back to the 4th Division," Unohana appeared behind him and put a reassuring hand on his broad shoulder as she spoke.

He shrugged it off, scooping up the girl's body into his arms delicately. He sighed as she met his stare blankly. '_The hell's wrong with you, woman…?_'

* * *

A/N: Woooooh, we're makin' headway guys! Many of you are like "WTF Where's Ichigo?!" I assure you, he's on his way.

Thanks reviewers: Art-Dreamer, DarkMage6, XXBlackfireXX, xYuzuki-Taichox, icantseeyourstar, Heat, JJ-Jefferu, I'llxBexUrxEnigma2010, Silver Eternity, WinterMission, darkheart1992, Captain Riley...and if I missed anyone...you too! =B


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